A Dodgers ball boy made the play of a lifetime on Wednesday when he made a bare-handed catch of a ball that was rocketing towards the bullpen — or perhaps more accurately, rocketing towards Shohei Ohtani’s head.
Ohtani hit the deck immediately, realizing that the errant ball was on a collision course with his face, a move that a majority of other players around him did as well. On this day the bat boy became a bat man, casually plucking it out of thin air and protecting the Dodgers’ $700M investment.
“Protecting the most important player in baseball” is right up there in the pantheon of amazing things a bat boy could achieve. If the team didn’t give this dude a bonus of a lifetime then what are we even doing here? It’s not outside the realm of possibility to think that if that ball actually made contact with Ohtani he would have missed signifiant time, but now we don’t need to worry about that.
The decision by the Memphis Grizzlies to take Zach Edey with the No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft was easily the most divisive decision of the top-10. To some, Edey is a prolific college powerhouse, a dominant talent who was a no-brainer, others see a physically-limited, low-upside center who will be eaten alive by the NBA’s athleticism. But no matter which side of the fence you fall on, there’s no debating that Edey is a genuinely great dude.
This shined through on Thursday night, when instead of accepting an invite to The Barclay’s Center to be a part of the pomp and circumstance of the draft, instead Edey spent the evening with his former Purdue teammates and watched it all unfold on TV.
Edey informed the NBA last week that he wouldn’t be attending the draft in person, turning down his green room invite. He told league officials that he was going to stay and watch with his coaches, teammates, family and friends at Purdue — which included Mason Gillis, who transferred to Duke last month, but was still there to celebrate Edey’s big moment.
It’s aspects like this of Edey’s personality which will make him a fan-favorite in Memphis. A true throwback center in an era of stretch players, time will tell whether the experiment will work — but there’s no doubt that this kid has his priorities in the right place. Let’s be honest for a second too: Staying home was exceedingly smart.
Speculation on where Edey might land ranged from the late teens, all the way out of the first round. Obviously the story ended well for the Purdue big man, but by staying away from the green room he dodged the embarrassment of waiting all night to hear his name called only to be met with silence, as Duke center Kyle Filipowski did on Wednesday night when he fell out of the first round.
The new locale also allowed for Edey to get the full “Art but Sports” treatment, something he wouldn’t have likely gotten in NYC.
It’s difficult not to root for this kid, and all the players who got selected on Wednesday night. Memphis got a good one.
Legendary NBC Sports golf broadcaster Gary Koch, who played in the U.S. Open 17 times as a pro and called 22 more on television, will tee it up at the U.S. Senior Open this week at Newport Country Club.
He made it to Rhode Island via sectional qualifying in what will mark his U.S. Senior Open debut.
“One of the reasons I got into television in my 40s is because I figured out it’s a lot easier to talk about some guy making a six-foot putt than me doing it,” Koch said Wednesday before the tournament.
“You’re hoping as a broadcaster to be able to communicate to the viewer hopefully what the player is thinking or maybe the game plan they’ve put together, or we read comments they make about how they’re trying to play the golf course. We spend a lot of time on the golf course, even as broadcasters, checking out the conditions. So I would say there are some similarities, no doubt. But talking about it is a lot easier than doing it.”
Koch has not played competitively since 2018, when he tied for 50th at The Senior Open. Despite that, he arrives in the Ocean State with plenty of confidence and with good reason. Koch, now 71, admitted that he has shot his age at least 100 times, first doing so after he turned 62.
“The reality is I just don’t play much competitive golf anymore,” Koch said.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan presents Gary Koch with the 2023 Payne Stewart Award ahead of the Tour Championship.Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images
“On my good days, I should be able to go around this place and post a respectable score. I’m not sure what a respectable score would be based on the conditions. I would say realistically, if I can make the cut and play all four days, then I’ve probably accomplished something I’d be very proud of.”
As long as Koch can keep it in play, he should have a chance to make the weekend.
But the competition within the competition will come down to the battle between broadcasters. Koch’s fellow NBC Sports colleague, Notah Begay III, will also tee it up this week. Koch and Begay III recently called the action at Pinehurst No. 2, where Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open title.
“I’m sure there will be a little wager on who’s low announcer,” Koch joked.
“But he’s also a lot younger than I am. He probably should give me a few strokes.”
Begay III, who played alongside Tiger Woods at Stanford in the mid-1990s, is 20 years younger than Koch but primarily works as an analyst for NBC Sports.
Nevertheless, the beauty of golf—and this championship, for that matter—is that anyone can play, despite their age. A golfer’s score does not discriminate, as it all depends on who can get the ball into the hole the fastest.
“As I look back over my life of golf, the [United States Golf Association (USGA)] and their competitions have been a huge part of that, no doubt about it,” Koch reflected.
“The very first one was in 1968, the USGA Junior at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. I was 15 years old. So here we are 56 years later, getting to compete in another USGA Championship. I can’t think of any other sport where something like that could happen.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Sean Stellato the larger-than-life agent for Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito was at The Vatican today to meet with Pope Francis. Why did he get an audience with the pope? Honestly, nobody really knows — but there’s photographic evidence to prove these two met.
What these two men have to discuss is beyond comprehension, but we did our best to come up with some ideas.
Let’s caption this …
“You represent DeVito? I love him in the Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
“I loved you in Jury Duty, Mr. Pauly Shore”
“They say ‘Your Holiness, someone from the NFL is here to see you,’ and I think ‘Ooh, it’s Travis Kelce. I love that guy,’ or ‘maybe it’s Tom Brady?’ But no, Tommy DeVito’s agent is much better. This is good. This is fine.”
“So if I’m hearing right Tommy got beat out by a gawky doofus who went to a methodist university?”
“No. No. Is not ‘cutlets,’ it’s ‘pollo alla parmigiana’ you peasant.”
“It’s nice of you to see me, my son. But Jamie Taco: You shouldn’t steal people’s lines.”
“I remember you! You sold me used Fiat in Buenos Aires in 1977. Good to see you again!”
“Tommy needs to get a better job of working to his third read. And there are times his footwork does not synch up with the route concepts so it throws the timing off.” — Yes there is a world in my head where Pope Francis is a huge Xs and Os guru and has taken note of where Tommy DeVito needs to improve his game.
“No I cannot do anything about a Daniel Jones trade.”
“Explain to me, my son. If you call it ‘football’ then why no kicking?”
“I’m actually a Saints fan. HAHAHAHA just kidding. I would never support those losers”
“Sorry, but we’ll need a little more than 1,101 passing yards and eight touchdowns to consider Tommy for sainthood.”
“I watched Tommy making cutlets and I was disappointed to see that he does not double bread his cutlets. You need to tell him to double bread the cutlets. He’s a nice young man but I need to see some double breading.”
The WNBA announced the early leaders of WNBA All-Star fan voting last Friday, with A’ja Wilson leading all players with 217,773 votes. But while the Aces star is one of the top players in the league, and a fan favorite, she doesn’t need the votes to appear in the All-Star game.
In a unique WNBA rules quirk related to their season taking place in the summer, during Olympic years, players like Wilson who have already been selected to represent the United States automatically earn spots in the All-Star game. All 12 Team USA Players will be All-Stars.
For the remaining spots, fans account for 50% of the voting, while players and media each account for 25% of voting. Voting for fans closes on June 29. The top 5 Team USA players and the top five non-USA vote-getters earn starting spots. Then, WNBA coaches select seven more players from a pool of the next 36 highest vote-getters, and “Team USA” squares off against “Team WNBA.” Those seven players will come off the bench, while the seven players remaining from the Olympic roster will come off the bench for Team USA.
For context, Caitlin Clark is the highest vote-getter among non-Team USA players in first returns, with 216,427 votes.
Here are seven players who aren’t playing for the United States that deserve one of those 12 All-Star spots.
Dearica Hamby
Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
Hamby has two All-Star appearances to her name, in 2021 and 2022, but neither of those seasons compare to what she’s doing for the Sparks this year. Hamby spent her career as a sixth player for Las Vegas, but has become a star for Los Angeles.
In Hamby’s best season with the Aces in 2020, she averaged 13 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals. This summer, Hamby is averaging a double-double with 17.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Hamby is one of four WNBA players to average a double-double, is third in the league in rebounds, and 10th in points per game.
Jonquel Jones
Photo by Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images
New York’s Jones is often overshadowed by her Liberty co-stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu — both USA team members — but her impact can’t be overlooked.
This is Jones’ best season since she was named MVP for Connecticut in 2021. The 6-6 forward is averaging 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. She impacts every aspect of the game for the Liberty, and has helped them to a 15-3 record, which is the best mark in the WNBA. Jones is an elite defender, and on offense she is able to stretch the floor by shooting 43.6% from beyond the arc. Her overall shooting percentage is additionally the best in the WNBA at 59%.
Arike Ogunbowale
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
The Wings are struggling this season, largely due to injuries to players like Satou Sabally and Maddy Siegrist, but Ogunbowale has been the bright spot for the 3-13 Dallas squad. She’s having the kind of season that would put her in contention for MVP, if she was playing for a winning team.
Ogunbowale is second in the league in points per game – behind Wilson, who is playing for Team USA – and is having the best statistical season of her six-year career. The guard is averaging 23.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.7 careers – all career-highs.
Kayla McBride
Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
McBride has been an All-Star three times, with her last appearance coming in 2019. It’s time for the Minnesota guard to make her return, thanks to a historic shooting performance so far this season.
McBride is leading the WNBA in 3-pointers made, with 3.3 per game, and is shooting 46.4% from beyond the arc – the best mark of her career. In a win over the Storm on June 10, McBride made seven 3-pointers for a season-high 32 points. McBride is also 17th in the league in scoring, and is the second-highest point-getter on the Lynx, after Napheesa Collier. She’s certainly earned the nickname “Kayla McBuckets,” and an All-Star bid.
Dijonai Carrington
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Connecticut’s Carrington has proved herself as an elite on-ball defender, starting with an impressive display against Caitlin Clark in the season-opener, where she forced 10 turnovers. Carrington is always called on to guard the best player on the opposing team, and she almost always delivers. She’s also having a solid offensive season, averaging 12.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Carrington’s offensive numbers aren’t as strong as other potential All-Stars, but she’s one of the most complete players in the league. Her intense defense should give the fourth-year player an edge.
Ezi Magbegor
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Magbegor won’t play for Team USA, but she will be in the Olympics, playing for Australia. She should play against the United States in the All-Star game as well, after starting the season as the WNBA’s leader in blocks. She’s averaging 2.5 per game, which is more than Wilson, who was named Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Magbegor has always been a solid defender — her play earned the Storm star her first All-Star bid last season — but she’s made offensive strides as well. The center is averaging 13.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, to go with her 2.5 blocks.
Angel Reese
Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images
Four players in the WNBA are averaging a double-double: Wilson, Collier (both Team USA members), Hamby, and Reese. The rookie is also leading the WNBA in offensive rebounds, by a wide margin. She’s averaging 4.7 offensive boards per contest, which is 1.5 more than Magbegor, who ranks second.
On top of it all, Reese is still getting better every game, and her last performance of 25 points and 16 rebounds in a win against Indiana put the LSU grad in elite company. Reese is only the second rookie after Wilson to record 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game. On the season Reese is averaging 13.2 points, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Even with 12 players earning automatic All-Star bids, the talent pool in the WNBA is deep. And Team USA will have its hands full with whoever earns a spot on Team WNBA. Last time the two squared off – in 2021 – it was Team WNBA that secured the win, 93-85 thanks to 26 points from Ogunbowale. Make sure to cast your vote before June 29, and your favorite player could play spoilsport this time around.
The semi-finals of the T20 Cricket World Cup begin on Wednesday, and at least on paper it looks like 2024 is India’s tournament to lose.
Unpredictability was the story of the USA/West Indies World Cup with some of the sport’s most dominant teams falling by the wayside in the group stages to set up a rather unlikely final four. Naturally the most attention is on India, who have gone a perfect 6-0 in the tournament with an astronomical +2.01 net run rate in the second group stage — but that doesn’t mean they’ll win by default.
So let’s take a look at each of the final four in this tournament and see if anyone has the firepower to stop the favorites.
This might seem like a surprise for the uninitiated, but Afghanistan is a legitimate powerhouse in T20. While they lack the staying power to be in the test match elite, the national thrives in short-format cricket where their prolific batting can shine.
The biggest difference in this World Cup to those past is Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The 22-year-old phenom can be inconsistent, but when his bat is hot it’s very difficult to stop him. This game to the fore against Australia in the second group stage when he finished with a ludicrously efficient 60 runs off 49 balls, despite facing the best of the Aussie bowling attack. Gurbaz leads the World Cup in batting average at over 40 runs per game, and that makes him the ultimate x-factor.
That said, Afghanistan really struggle to stop their opponents from putting up big scores. This team allowed the West Indies to score 218, India put up 181 — and against the top teams in this tournament that just doesn’t lead to a recipe for success.
This team has the potential to beat South Africa in their semi-final, but after that it’s difficult to see them getting past either England or India.
England
Key strength: Batting depth Key weakness: Bowling
England feels like a team that’s almost there, but still has a little ways to go before they can truly take the step needed to be world champions. When it comes to scoring the teams has ample depth with Harry Brook, Jos Butler and Phil Salt all being top-tier T20 batsmen, but the big issue is a lack of bowling economy.
In this tournament the England bowlers have failed to place in the Top 15 in any statistical area. Their economy has been average, there’s been no signature performance against an elite team, and the best performances from the attack have come at the expense of b-tier cricket teams like Australia and Oman.
The best way to characterize the British bowling is that it’s good enough to reach the semi-finals. However, even with their battling depth they drew a short straw by landing India in the draw. It takes a complete game that can win in every phase to best India, and right now the bowling just isn’t up to par.
There’s no doubt that India had a few scares on their way to the semi finals. A narrow win over Pakistan and a near-loss to the United States showed some notable holes in their armor — but it was much more about struggling to adapt to a questionable pitch in Nassau County.
India has all the batting needed to handle any team in the world, but up to this point they haven’t really needed any run-scoring heroics. The bowling attack has been so good that it’s been easy to get trapped in a vortex against them, struggling to mount any kind of run total.
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in particular have been phenomenal in this tournament, and represent the best 1-2 bowling attack in this tournament. When paired with the scoring potential of Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma it makes for a team poised to win it all.
So long as the next two pitches are easy for India to read they should be able to coast to the finals, where they’ll almost assuredly meet their biggest competition …
South Africa
Key strength: Quinton de Kock Key weakness: Lack of competition
On paper South Africa have a lot of the traits needed to hang with India and win the World Cup, but the issue is that despite being so deep in this tournament their potential is semi-unknown.
It’s not their fault, but South Africa have strolled through this tournament thanks to an unbelievably easy schedule that has seen them only play one top-tier team (England) in seven games. Outside of that match they’ve been able to feast on the likes of Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Bangladesh, Nepal, and USA. Playing the West Indies was a push, but even then we really don’t know what this team is capable of because of who they’ve dodged.
We do know, however, that Quinton de Kock is an elite T20 batter with a knack for knowing when to score in a hurry, and when he needs to play conservative cricket. A big innings from de Kock could mean South African can win against anyone, but there’s no a lot to hang your hat on here.
Predictions
South Africa defeats Afghanistan
India defeats England
India defeats South Africa to win the 2024 T20 World Cup
Haas last added to their account in the F1 Sprint Race at the Miami Grand Prix, when Nico Hülkenberg parlayed a tenth-place finish in qualifying for the F1 Sprint Race into a seventh-place result in the F1 Sprint Race itself, earning two critical points for the team.
With Formula 1 returning to the F1 Sprint format this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, can Haas return to the points?
It has been a difficult stretch for the team since Miami, with their best chance for points coming in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. That weekend saw Hülkenberg qualify tenth, but he finished in P11, one spot out of the points. Since then they have been left on the outside looking in, including a double DNF in Monaco due to an opening-lap collision involving Sergio Pérez.
Their recent struggles opened the door for Alpine, whose own success the past few weeks — with six points over two race weekends — has seen the French outfit climb above them in the Constructors’ Championship standings. Alpine now sits seventh in the table with eight points, one point — and place — ahead of Haas with seven points.
As Haas heads to Red Bull Ring along with the rest of the grid for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, they are hopeful that recent success at that circuit will aid their quest for points.
“It’s a short track that packs in a lot of fun,” said Hülkenberg in the team’s media preview. “The length of the circuit means it bunches us all up over qualifying, which is a challenge, but we have two opportunities as it’s a Sprint. Last year I scored points around the Red Bull Ring, so I know it can be done, and we want to be back scoring points, so that’s the mission in Spielberg.”
On the other side of the garage Kevin Magnussen — who is hoping to have his F1 future resolved “soon” — is wary that the many high-speed corners in Austria could pose a problem for the team’s VF-24.
“It’s a fun track; I’ve got some good memories from the Red Bull Ring, that’s where we’ve had our best team result so I’m looking forward to going there again,” described Magnussen. “We have quite an efficient car so hopefully with our good straight-line speed we can be good there. There’s still a fair number of high-speed corners, which is perhaps not our strength, but we seem to be pretty consistently good at most tracks. I’m just looking forward to a fun Sprint weekend.”
Haas Race Engineer Mark Slade walked through the variety of corners Red Bull Ring offers, and how each may, or may not, suit the team’s challenger.
“One of the main things about the Red Bull Ring is that it’s a very short lap so it gets busy, particularly in practice and qualifying. It’s a nice mixture of low-, medium-, and high-speed corners, and obviously in a spectacular setting so it looks amazing, and it does provide quite a significant challenge for us when setting the car up,” described Slade. “We’ve had some issues with medium-speed corners, so we’re expecting to have to manage that, it’s going to be a challenge for us, but on the other hand in low-speed corners, we’ve generally been very good at them and we think we’ve taken a step forward in high-speed corners recently. We’ll see how we get on, but we’ve got a plan of course.”
While many teams have addressed the challenges a compressed F1 Sprint week puts in front of them, Slade outlined how for a team like Haas, there are added benefits to the condensed schedule.
“There is a lot of extra work for a Sprint, especially in amongst a triple-header, but it also makes it very interesting, it’s all a part of Formula 1,” said Slade. “You have to be realistic that you’re not going to be able to do everything you’d like to do with one practice session, so you have to pick the most important points that you think are relevant to getting the best out of the car in both the Sprint and the race and work to achieve those objectives – it’s a very compressed, highly edited run plan.
“The format of a Sprint is different from previous years, so you can afford to be a little bit more experimental in the Sprint race because points only go to eighth place, and realistically we’re chasing that last points-paying position so it means we can try things that we wouldn’t necessarily have tried, knowing we can change things for the race.”
Slade and the rest of the team get their first crack at Red Bull Ring this Friday.
The Houston Rockets want Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. In an effort to get one of them, Houston made a fascinating trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night to acquire future draft picks originally belonging to the Phoenix Suns. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke a convoluted trade that returns the Nets their own 2026 pick (originally sent to Houston in the James Harden trade) and extinguishes swap rights Houston had on Brooklyn’s 2025 pick in exchange for a package headlined by the Suns’ 2027 pick, which was originally acquired by the Nets in the Kevin Durant trade.
This trade comes on the heels of the Nets trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in a package headlined by five first round draft picks. It’s all happening the night before the 2024 NBA Draft.
Does all of that make sense? Probably not. Here’s how Woj explained it:
Another massive deal: Brooklyn has a deal with Houston to return the Nets’ 2026 first-round pick for a 2027 Phoenix Suns first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Rockets also acquire 2025 right to swap Houston/OKC first for 2025 Suns first-round pick. More details coming on picks… pic.twitter.com/qkTh3KwV63
More in deal: Houston acquires 2029 more favorable of Dallas and Phoenix first-round pick and acquires right to swap Houston first-round pick for less favorable Dallas first and Phoenix first, per sources. https://t.co/jUR0f5lSjM
Most importantly in the deal, per sources: Houston relinquishes the right to swap a Houston/OKC first-round pick for Brooklyn’s 2025 first-round pick. The Nets control their own pick as they go into a full rebuild — especially important in talented 2025 draft. https://t.co/jUR0f5lSjM
Nets get: Brooklyn 2026 first round pick, extinguished swap rights on 2025 Brooklyn first round pick
Rockets get: 2027 Suns first round pick, 2025 Suns first round swap rights, 2029 first round pick from Dallas or Phoenix (more favorable), swap rights on 2029 first round pick with Dallas or Phoenix (less favorable)
The Nets’ motivation for doing this deal is obvious: Brooklyn is going all-in on rebuilding, and now has control of its own picks. The Nets are going to tank hard ahead of a loaded 2025 NBA Draft class, and then they’re going to tank again in 2026. Brooklyn is loaded with draft picks.
What’s the Rockets’ motivation for doing this deal? They want Durant or Booker, according to Woj, and believe they can get Phoenix to bite by returning their own draft picks. The Suns are determined to keep Durant and Booker for now and try to win next season, according to Woj. The Rockets are betting they will move off that position eventually. Here are tweets from Woj:
The implications of the Rockets landing the Suns’ picks? Houston wants to trade for Kevin Durant and that becomes far easier if they can return the Suns’ picks that they gave up in the Durant deal to the Nets. Suns have said they’re keeping Durant for now, but that could change…
Rockets possess a pick swap with Suns in 2025, Suns’ pick in 2027 and could end up with the Suns’ pick in 2029 based on contingencies. If the Suns are ever faced with breaking up team, Houston’s also in prime position to pursue a younger Devin Booker. For now, Phoenix is trying… https://t.co/p29C3XSpe2
As intrigued as the Rockets have been about Durant, they’re determined to use the Suns picks to be aggressive on deals elsewhere now, sources tell ESPN. Phoenix has made it clear that they want to run it back with this group, and Houston is seeking a major upgrade now.
The Rockets also hold the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Is Durant getting traded during the draft on Wednesday night? It seems like a distinct possibility.
This scans as an incredibly bold, borderline reckless trade by Houston. The swap rights for the Nets’ 2025 pick and unprotected ownership of their 2026 pick were incredibly valuable assets. Houston gave those up to fade the Suns. The Rockets are going to be aggressive in trying to trade for an established veteran talent — whether it’s Durant or Booker or someone else.
The NBA is on fire, and the Nets are at the center of it all. Brooklyn’s big swing for Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden blew up into an epic disaster, but the team recovered so well by dealing them all (and the returning assets like Bridges) for future draft picks. The Nets are flushed with draft capital in stronger classes the next few years.
Durant, by the way, turns 36 years old before next season. What a way to start the 24 hours before the draft.
The PGA Tour is in Detroit, Michigan, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Rickie Fowler will attempt to defend his title. After an entertaining three-week stretch of golf, this tournament does not feature some top-ranked players, but it still employs a strong field of golfers looking to push their way up the FedEx Cup standings.
Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross design, is one of the flattest courses players face this season. It will likely be a birdie fest as scores tend to be low.
Nate Lashley won at 25-under in 2019 at the inaugural event. The last couple of years have seen similar results. Tony Finau won at 26-under in 2022, and Rickie Fowler ended his drought with a 24-under final score. Even the cut line is low, as players typically have to finish 36 holes at 5-under or lower to make the weekend. The last five cut lines of this tournament have been: 4-under, 3-under, 3-under, 5-under, and 5-under.
Get ready for a birdie barrage.
Here is the one-stop information shop for the Rocket Mortgage Classic
Rocket Mortgage Classic:
Where: Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, MI (Par-72, 7,370-yards)
When: Jun. 27-30th
Purse: $9,200,000 ($1,650,000 1st place)
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Defending Champion: Rickie Fowler
Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
How to Watch The Rocket Mortgage Classic
Golf Channel and CBS Sports will share television coverage. Check out the full schedule below:
Thursday, June 27: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, June 28: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, June 29: 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3:00-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday, June 30: 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3:00-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
How to Stream The Rocket Mortgage Classic
ESPN+ will exclusively air early round and featured group coverage all four days of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Peacock will have simulcasts of the Golf Channel’s broadcast.
Coverage on Peacock can be streamed here.
In addition, fans can tune into CBS Sports streaming service Paramount+ while CBS airs its third and final round broadcasts.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic Preview:
Defending champion Rickie Fowler ended his four-year-long drought last year when he defeated Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa in a playoff.
However, he recorded only one top-20 finish since that victory, which came at the Travelers Championship last week. He tied for 20th, which, considering he began the championship with a 6-under 64, proved to be a rather disappointing finish—much like how his entire 2024 season has gone.
Nevertheless, Fowler looks to become the first back-to-back winner in this tournament’s history.
Cameron Young, who shot a 59 at TPC River Highlands last week, is in the field. He finished second to Finau in 2022.
Michael Thorbjornsen, who made his professional debut last week at the Travelers, will play again this week in Detroit. The former Stanford Cardinal tied for 39th, which included a second-round 6-under 64.
The headliner of this event is Tom Kim, who fell to his best friend Scottie Scheffler in a one-hole playoff at the Travelers. This week will mark Kim’s ninth straight event on tour. He is someone to watch because his game is so sharp right now. His best finish at the Rocket Mortgage is a T-7 in 2022.
The sponsor exemption list is also impressive. Miles Russell will make his PGA Tour debut at 15-years-old. He won the Junior PGA Championship and Junior Players. Russell took the world by storm by making the cut earlier this year at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Neal Shipley is also in the field, making his first non-major start. He finished as the low amateur at the Masters and the U.S. Open.
This field may not feature any of the world’s Top 10 players, but it will be a fascinating week with plenty of talented players to watch.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic Round 1 Tee Times (ET):
*indicates starts on 10th tee 6:45 a.m. — Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin, Doug Ghim
6:45 a.m.* — Garrick Higgo, Kelly Kraft, Carl Yuan
6:56 a.m. — Aaron Baddeley, Sam Ryder, Max Greyserman
6:56 a.m.* — Tyler Duncan, Ryan Moore, Brandon Wu
7:07 a.m. — Matt NeSmith, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Yu
7:07 a.m.* — Nate Lashley, Kevin Tway, Jason Dufner
7:18 a.m. — Taylor Moore, Adam Svensson, Brandt Snedeker
7:18 a.m.* — Davis Riley, Peter Malnati, Brendon Todd
7:29 a.m. — Luke List, Chad Ramey, Adam Schenk
7:29 a.m.* — Nick Dunlap, Chris Kirk, Erik van Rooyen
7:40 a.m. — Brice Garnett, Vincent Norrman, Ryan Brehm
7:40 a.m.* — Robert MacIntyre, Tom Kim, Cameron Young
7:51 a.m. — Martin Trainer, Tim Wilkinson, Andrew Novak
1:38 p.m. — Chesson Hadley, Tyson Alexander, Sami Valimaki
1:38 p.m. * — Kevin Streelman, Bud Cauley, Scott Gutschewski
1:49 p.m. — Davis Thompson, Callum Tarren, Ryo Hisatsune
1:49 p.m.* — Ben Kohles, Chandler Phillips, David Skinns
2:00 p.m. — Jacob Bridgeman, Jorge Campillo, Danny Guise
2:00 p.m.* — Alejandro Tosti, Patrick Fishburn, Jackson Koivun (a)
2:11 p.m. — Nicholas Lindheim, Erik Barnes, Brandon Berry
2:11 p.m.* — Chan Kim, Trace Crow, Luke Clanton (a)
2:22 p.m. — Ryan McCormick, Kevin Dougherty, Angelo Giantsopoulos
2:22 p.m. — Ben Silverman, Wilson Furr, Ben James (a)
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
Englishman Lee Westwood is fed up with the current schism surrounding professional golf, as the PGA Tour tries to strike a deal with LIV Golf’s beneficiary, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Westwood wants the best players to play side-by-side in every tournament, not just in the majors.
“No matter what the level of golf is, I think if the best players at every level don’t come together and play, there’s only one loser, and that’s the fans watching,” Westwood said Tuesday ahead of his U.S. Senior Open debut.
“We need to somehow figure a way to get the best players playing against each other more often.”
One consequence of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide is that the four majors have become even more prominent. Unlike regular tour events, LIV Golf players can tee it up at The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship. That means fans get to see the top players compete side-by-side only four times per year.
LIV has also seen success in recent majors, as four of the last eight major champions currently play on the Saudi-backed circuit. Look no further than Bryson DeChambeau, who won the most recent major at Pinehurst No. 2.
“When you look at the U.S. Open two weeks ago or the Masters or the PGA Championship, people are happy to see Bryson [DeChambeau] or Cam [Smith] or Jon Rahm coming and playing in those big events,” Westwood said.
Lee Westwood at LIV Golf Nashville.Photo by Bryan Lynn/Getty Images
“It’s basically getting all the best players together in one tournament to compete against each other, and that’s what you want at the highest level. You want all the best players there.”
This week’s Senior U.S. Open features two LIV Golf players: Richard Bland, who won last month’s Senior PGA Championship, and Westwood.
Westwood earned a place in this week’s U.S. Senior Open because he has played on a recent Ryder Cup team. He represented Team Europe at Whistling Straits in 2021, earning a single point. The Americans trounced the Europeans that year, 19-to-9.
Less than one year later, Westwood joined LIV Golf, where he has not had much success. Yet, Westwood will tee it up with plenty of confidence at Newport Country Club this week, thanks to his recent performance at LIV Golf Nashville, where he tied for third—the best result of his LIV Golf career.
“I started to swing well, and my whole game was coming together when I played at LIV Houston three weeks ago. Then I went home and did a little bit of work on it. I probably haven’t been working as hard on my game as I would have liked to, but I put in a bit more work in the week off,” Westwood explained.
“Putted well last week. I sharpened my short game up because I’ve been playing more, and my game is in a really good place. Played well on the final day, which was good. I haven’t been finishing tournaments off, so having fun for the last four holes, and finishing that tournament off strongly has given me a lot of confidence going into this week.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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